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OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Obama touts low healthcare prices for young people

President Obama on Monday touted a new report showing that nearly half of single, young adults could sign up for health insurance that cost $50 or less per month. “Less than your cellphone bill, less than your cable bill,” Obama said in an interview with Fusion. “And about 70 percent can get if for less than $100 bucks a month.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report found that many young people have access to cheap coverage under the healthcare law because of low-cost plans, federal discounts to make policies more affordable and the Medicaid program.

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The report was released just as Republican leadership circulated an article by NBC suggesting that millions of people would see their health policies canceled as ObamaCare takes effect. The White House challenged the report, attributing policy cancelations to normal turnover in the insurance market.

Upton bill unveiled:A key Republican lawmaker is floating a bill that would allow some consumers to retain healthcare plans that do not meet new coverage standards under ObamaCare. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) will introduce legislation that expands the Affordable Care Act's "grandfather" clause to include plans sold on the individual market in January 2013. Under the bill, health insurance companies would be allowed to continue selling policies available on and before that date. The story is here.

Microsoft wants to help: Microsoft offered to help fix HealthCare.gov but has not provided specific services yet, the software giant told lawmakers in a letter Friday. The House Oversight Committee sent letters to several technology companies last week to gain details on the little-described "tech surge" to fix ObamaCare's botched enrollment site. Microsoft replied that it has been in "limited contact" with the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services and private contractors since Oct. 1 on the topic of the sign-up system, and had offered its services to each party. Healthwatch has the details.

Making it official:The Obama administration officially delayed the sign-up date for ObamaCare coverage by six weeks in guidance published Monday. Read about it here.

Fact check: White House spokesman Jay Carney clashed with reporters at a briefing on Monday over President Obama’s claim that under the Affordable Care Act “if you like your plan, you can keep it.” The remark came under renewed scrutiny on Monday, after David Axelrod seemed to acknowledge that, contrary to White House claims, not everyone will get to keep their existing healthcare plans under ObamaCare. The president has repeatedly insisted that “if you like your plan, you can keep it.” But since its implementation earlier this month, thousands of people have been notified that they’ll be losing their healthcare policies because they don’t comply with Affordable Care Act requirements. Jonathan Easley at The Hill reports.

Bigfooting: President Obama will hold a healthcare event in Boston on Wednesday, the same day Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is slated to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. That will be the first time the embattled secretary fields questions from congressional Republicans since the rocky rollout of the ObamaCare website. The president’s counter-programming will take place at Faneuil Hall, the 18th-century marketplace where former Massachusetts Gov. and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney signed that state's insurance law. Justin Sink at The Hill reports.